Society In Cinema And Society

Cinema and Society- MIRRORS

Introduction

When history is taught or written, people talk not of the economic state at that point of time. They speak of the social conditions to know what issues, struggles, and developments that era had. To depict these social conditions, they use art. Art has existed ever since the existence of mankind. Art is used to portray the life, the influences, the social structure, the social conditions and various other things pertaining to the society. Art may include dance, paintings, literature, music, theatre.

Earlier, it was mostly the paintings and the documented literature that described the conditions in the society. They are probably the only real evidences, the only real depictions from an era that has endured

The Indian treatise of performing arts, Natyashastra, encompasses theatre, dance and music. It was written by Bharatamuni. In the Natyashastra, he says “Art is the search for truth”. The purpose of life is no different. We are all looking for truth. Hence, Art and even literature are two major reflections of man. They depict not only the thoughts and ideas of a man but also depict the social system that the man lives in. They document and paint the changes and transformation of man and society. If it were not for art and literature, we would have never known what life and society was like in the 16th or 17th centuries or even before that. Art has given us visual evidences of existence of various social practices whereas literature has given us written proof of the practices and lifestyles. On the other hand, science is the study of man and his world. Science studies the reasons behind man’s behavior, lifestyle and it gives reasons for man’s existence. Cinema is an amalgamation of the three and it invariably represents man and his life in the society. The presence of all the three ingredients in cinema makes it a powerful tool to document, paint and depict the ongoing. It is more advanced and more potent means of not only delineating the society but also a means and platform to provide solutions to the problems in the society and to bring awareness in the

But, for a long time, cinema has also been an educative and informative apparatus. It has educated and informed in a way that people find appealing. Many movies have been made that educate and inform people on various issues. In fact, most of the films have an informative or/and educative base. Films bring up issues which people may or may not discuss in their lives. It is essential that these issues must be addressed and the topics must be brought up in order to know how much the society has developed on the whole or how many issues and problems the society is facing. It is vital for the progress of the society that these topics are brought to the attention of the common man. The common man will be able to know about these issues either by watching, reading, or listening to news that is available in various forms and is fresh every day. But, for those who do not enjoy the monotony of news, cinema is the answer. Particularly in India, the country that is home to world’s biggest film industry, cinema has been of great influence on the